At their meeting in Manila, on Monday 2 June, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Enrique Manalo, announced the establishment of a security and defence dialogue, the inaugural meeting of which is set to take place in the last quarter of 2025.
In a troubled geopolitical context, Ms Kallas welcomed the fact that the forthcoming dialogue would provide an opportunity to discuss issues such as “maritime security, cybersecurity, foreign information manipulation and interference, the fight against terrorism, crisis response, etc.”.
The two sides recognised the benefit of continued cooperation under initiatives such as Critical Maritime Routes Indo-Pacific (CRIMARIO II), Copernicus and Enhancing security cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA Plus).
In particular, they raised their shared concerns about China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive” measures against Philippine vessels and aircraft in the South China Sea.
Ms Kallas and Mr Manalo also highlighted the ongoing negotiations for an EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement and expressed hope for its early conclusion.
Referring to the EU Election Observation Mission for the recent mid-term elections on 12 May, Ms Kallas regretted that restrictions had been imposed on the Mission despite the arrangements made prior to deployment (see EUROPE 13635/40, 13638/30).
Other topics of discussion included climate cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and commitment to multilateralism. In particular, the two parties reiterated their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.
Earlier, on 31 May, the High Representative visited Singapore as part of the ‘Shangri-La’ dialogue on defence, where she gave a speech affirming the EU’s support for the security of its partners on the Asian continent. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)